Let me start by saying that I'm a huge fan of Tweetie. It's a superb app for using Twitter on my iPhone and I soon migrated across from Tweetdeck to the Mac desktop version thanks to it's simple, yet beautiful interface. The news that Tweetie is launching version 2.0 is very exciting especially considering the introduction of features such as draft manager or synching with the iPhone address book.

But here's the flip side. Tweetie 2.0 will cost £1.79. Now that's not a huge amount but we have to consider that the majority of Tweetie users have already paid to download the original application. Surely it's our right, as original users, to qualify for a free upgrade to the latest software isn't it? Well if that's our perception, Apple has a lot to answer for.

Apple has, for the past two years, allowed iPhone users to upgrade to subsequent versions of their iPhone software for no extra cost (iPod Touch owners have to pay for the upgrade). The chief reason for this has to be related to the perceived value of what is an incredibly expensive phone. Traditionally phone software was clunky and anything but a pleasure to use but the iPhone changed all that. By updating the software at no cost, they are able to add new features to the expensive hardware, extending the life of the product. Effectively this gives users a brand new phone every year - 2.0 introduced apps (can you believe how much love we gave the phone when all we could do was go online, via edge if you were lucky!) while 3.0 added the long awaited basic functions of cut & paste and MMS. Only when the software is limited by the hardware (eg. no video recording, slow internet connection) do users feel the necessity upgrade.

In terms of software development, this goes completely against the grain, especially in a world where new operating systems are released every couple of years by Microsoft or Apple. At least that software is discounted for upgraders. No such luck for Tweetie users.

Intially I shared the sentiments of PatrickJ as I was outraged at the thought of parting with more cash for what is 'just another Twitter app' especially considering other quality apps such as Twitterific are available for free. But then Tweetie 2.0 is being built from the ground up. And it's packed full of new features. And if Loren Brichter really is working so hard, he deserves my cash for what is, quite simply, a delighful product and a joy to use.

UPDATE: I conceded after plenty of debate and bought Tweetie 2. It's worth every penny.

So the iTunes App Store has finally arrived and we have a breakthrough in how customers are engaging with companies.

Before I go on, I should acknowledge that I’m (trying to) purposely ignore all the problems Apple had in activating 3G iPhones, the lack of a fully integrated push solution as part of their new mobileme service, yellow tinted iPhones and the constant crashing of the applications from the App Store. It’s only been three days but the impact of these problems are a growing concern for both new and loyal ‘fanboy’ customers who are voicing their concerns all over the blogosphere.

Moving on and looking to the (not so distant) future, companies have a great opportunity to place themselves in the pockets of consumers and considering how affordable the 3G iPhone is now, that audience has just grown. Of course, online services such as Last.fm, Shazam and Facebook have developed great applications that extend their traditional offering but other companies are becoming a little more creative.

Hats off to the team at Carling who developed iPint which I can only describe as the perfect game to play with mates after a few beers, followed by a virtual pint as a reward. Delicious and fully branded.

British Airways have provided a useful flight finder allowing frequent travellers to monitor changes without having to check to departure board. Although I probably would given the number of crashes from other apps I’ve experienced so far!

I’ll be keeping an eye out for other, creative applications coming from corporations who can afford to give them away for free which, let’s be honest, is the real clincher in whether consumers are going to try something out. Thankfully Carling and BA didn’t get greedy and try to charge for their apps but beware, the iPhone could soon become the new fighting ground for all those application developers who are moving on from Facebook.

Last week, Apple threw open the iPhone to developers, allowing them to create applications for the portable device. You can see the full presentation here.

The initial apps demoed at the event were impressive, expanding the useage of the phone/music player/web browser while targeting a variety of new audiences such as gamers (Super Monkey Ball), online socialites (AIM) and businesses (SalesForce).

So far the iPhone has led to a huge increase in mobile web browsing and it’s likely that the launch of apps in June will have a similar result.

We’ve already witnessed an explosion of Facebook applications (yes, we’re all a little tired of being bitten by our Vampire friends), but will we see big brands jumping on this opportunity and investing in the development of iPhone apps?

Based on the social media philosophy of always ensuring brand content created is either useful or entertaining, what better way is there to get a client into the pockets of consumers than with a high quality game or piece of software that actually assists them in their daily activities?

We’ve already witnessed brands developing content such as Cadillac’s Xbox 360 game or the IFA search engine from unbiased.co.uk and with the iPhone reaching out to new audiences, we look forward to an increase in brand-based applications specifically designed to be carried around 24 hours a day.